Lovely Recordings Hosted by João Feiteira

I've been feeling for quite some time an increasing interest in finding music that adds a new texture to my collection, as opposed to buying multiple releases from the same artist. Here I gather a mix of both expected and unpredictable artists, a selection of both local and world music that did precisely this.

Pedro Soler & Gaspar Claus:Barlande (InFiné Music, 2011)
At a certain point I felt I needed to add more Flamenco and cello recordings to my collection. And then this album crossed my path. Here, father and son play a very intimate set of flamenco guitar and cello pieces with a nostalgic feeling. I often play it right after waking up, when sadness is not overwhelming.

Buika:Niña de fuego (DRO Atlantic, 2008)
This one very clearly added a new texture to my collection, it's difficult to fit it into a genre. Flamenco is definitely present, but I hear so much more, from latin to jazz. Buika's voice is so saturated that every frequency seems to be there, all the time.

Baden Powell:Solitude On Guitar (Columbia Records, 1973)
This is some of the most beautiful, deep guitar playing I've ever heard. I was mesmerized the first time I heard "Márcia, eu te amo". Baden Powell was Brazilian but I would not file this under Bossa Nova, this transcends genres.

Joel Xavier & Ron Carter:In New York (Galileo Music Communication, 2004)
This was one of those blind dates. All I knew was that it cost 3 EUR and it was a guitar and double bass recording with the great Ron Carter. I guessed Joel Xavier was Brazilian, just to find out he was Portuguese like me, a guitar virtuoso from a young age that kind of eclipsed soon after this recording.

Philip Catherine:The String Project - Live in Brussels (ACT Music, 2015)
Can you tell I'm a guitar aficionado? I first heard Philip Catherine on Chet Baker's recordings from the 80's, but I had no idea who he was until I saw him live in a free Jazz festival during the years I was working in Belgium, his homeland. What immediately grabbed me was his beautiful guitar tone, whether on electric or acoustic guitar. This album consists of tracks from a live performance with an orchestra behind. If you love the recent Lovers from Nels Cline, you most probably will love this one also.

Júlio Resende:Amália Por Julio Resende (Edições Valentim de Carvalho , 2013)
Amália Rodrigues was and always will be the greatest Fado singer ever. Period. She deserves the title not just due to her amazing voice, including dynamics that would send microphones into overload all the time, but also due to her openness to add new elements to what was a very conservative and guitar-driven music genre. One of those elements was the piano, the instrument with which Júlio Resende erected this eulogy to Amália. Popular Fado songs are turned into the most beautiful solo piano arrangements one can imagine. A haunting voice track recorded by Amália during the peak of her abilities was superimposed to the piano on the last track. As Júlio wrote himself, this is such a good example on how "to cross the world aboard a country."

Ibrahim Ferrer:Mi Sueno (World Circuit, 2017)
Released soon after his death, this album is said to be at least partially based on the unfinished, demo recordings that Ibrahim Ferrer left behind. I couldn't tell, all of it sounds so perfect and you get the feeling that you are in the presence of such an accomplished human being. Ibrahim Ferrer sings here mostly romantic Cuban boleros surrounded by other Buena Vista Social Club members, such as Omara Portuondo and the great guitarist Manuel Galbán.

Chet Baker:Embraceable You (Pacific Jazz Records, 1995)
Recorded in 1957 but mostly unreleased until 1995, this recording put a young Chet Baker in a very intimate setting, surrounded by only acoustic guitar and double bass. Words fail me to describe the moment I first heard this recording. Who in his right mind would take the decision not to release such a beautiful session?

Chico Hamilton Quintet:The Original Ellington Suite (Pacific Jazz Records, 2000)
The music of Chico Hamilton definitely widened the concept of Jazz for me. A bowed cello on a Jazz recording?! To make it even more interesting, this is another example of a shelved recording, recorded in 1958 but released only in 2000. What was the problem with these Pacific Jazz guys? In this case, the album was shelved in favor of other Ellington tracks recorded with a slightly different lineup of musicians. But it gets even more interesting. It is said that the release in 2000 of the original suite was only possible after an acetate was found at a flea market.

I am a Civil Engineer quietly sitting at a crossroads, secretly hoping to bring music more into the foreground of my life. As a researcher in an academia setting, music exercises my emotions and balances the analytical part of what has been my work life up to now.